Pleasanton Weekly

Community Pulse - November 15, 2013

Police Bulletin

Repeat offender busted in jewelry thefts

A Castro Valley man remains in custody on burglary and bad check charges at local jewelry stores that totaled more than $74,000, including $35,000 at Cardinal Jewelers in the 3000 block of Hopyard Road.

Chris Joseph Wade, 46, also has eight prior convictions that could boost his sentence under California's three-strikes law, which increases penalties for repeat offenders.

Court documents show Wade wrote multiple bad checks to Cardinal Jewelers for jewelry worth $35,593, and checks totaling $38,797 to three other area jewelery stores. He's also under investigation for similar crimes in Oakland, Berkeley and Woodland, according to court records.

Burglary charges can be added when a store is entered with the intent to steal.

In police reports:

* An attempted purse snatching was stopped when the victim fought off the would-be thief. The woman was near the intersection of W. Las Positas Boulevard and Springhouse Drive, walking home from 24 Hour Fitness at about 9:31 a.m. Nov. 6 when she was grabbed by a man who tried to take her purse. She began screaming and punching the man in the face, and he ran off.

* Nathaniel E. Wilkes, 26, of Oakland and Annemarie G. Morales, 30, of San Francisco were arrested at about 6:04 p.m. Nov. 6 for identity theft, forgery and burglary. The two allegedly had fraudulent identity information in their possession and tried to withdraw money from the Wells Fargo bank office inside Safeway. The bank called to report the attempted fraud. Wilkes was also arrested for resisting arrest.

* Police have suspects in a felony embezzlement from Eagle Capital in the 4300 block of First Street in an incident reported at 12:36 p.m. Nov. 10. The amount taken was not released.

* Transient Karrole Lynne Brown, 46, was arrested at about 8:59 a.m. on a Pleasanton felony warrant for theft from a dependent adult.

* Residents of a home in the 2700 block of Solandra Court reported jewelry worth $4,260 was stolen sometime between May 9 and Nov. 3. Among the items taken were a hairpin and earrings set worth $1,560, six pairs of earrings worth $900 and two rings worth $600.

* About $1,200 cash, a $300 laptop and car keys were stolen in a break in at a home in the 4800 block of Bernal Avenue sometime between 9:30 a.m. and 10:23 p.m. Nov. 7. A kitchen window had been left unlocked, providing access.

Under the law, those arrested are considered innocent until convicted.